Although he showed enough in the Arizona Fall League to merit addition to the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, righty Dallas Beeler was not a serious threat to crack the Cubs’ 25-man roster out of Spring Training. Today, the Cubs sent him to minor league camp, together with reliever Marcus Hatley.
Beeler, 24, is a tall guy who dealt with a finger issue last year, but impressed in the AFL. He doesn’t have a wipeout pitch, but there’s some stuff there to dream on as a future back-of-the-rotation type in the big leagues (the Cubs wouldn’t have used a 40-man spot if they didn’t think so). Presumably, Beeler will begin the year in AAA Iowa’s rotation, but there is something of a competition for AAA rotation spots at this point.
Hatley, 25, is your prototypical strike-a-bunch-out-walk-a-bunch minor league reliever. He’s got great stuff, and he’ll have another year – probably at AAA Iowa – to show he can cut down on the walks. He’s got good stuff, at least.
After today’s cuts, and the first round of cuts earlier this week, the spring roster is down to 54.